A 45-year-old bank manger has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars after he stole millions of rands from an automatic teller machine (ATM). Audrey Lepala Tlaka was a bank manger at one of the banks in Kwaggafontein Complex in Mpumalanga.
Tlaka appeared in the Kwaggafontein Regional Court on Wednesday where his 15 years prison sentence was handed down.
According to Bonnie Nxumalo, the police spokesperson, between January 2011 and November 2012, Tlaka, who was a bank manager, stole more than R3.6 million from an ATM and a client’s estate account.
“Between January 2011 and November 2012, Tlaka stole more than R3.6 million from the automatic teller machine and the client’s estate account. The irregularities were discovered, and the matter was reported to the police.”
Nxumalo said Tlaka was arrested in 2012 and was taken to court but was released. He was rearrested by the Middleburg-based Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team. “The accused was detained and charged. He was found guilty on numerous counts of theft on 25 May 2022. He was sentenced on 28 June, to 15 years imprisonment and eight years imprisonment which will run concurrently.”